Zootopia 2 Photo: Courtesy of Douban

Over the weekend, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde did something big in ­China as the film starring them, Zootopia 2, is breaking box-office records.

Zootopia 2 grossed over 1.9 billion yuan ($268.53 million) at the Chinese mainland box office from its release on Wednesday to Sunday night, surpassing the 1.54 billion yuan earnings of the first Zootopia and becoming the highest-grossing imported animated film in Chinese film history, according to box-office tracker Dengta. 

Due to its outstanding performance in China, various film insiders and analysts are confident that the total 2025 Chinese mainland box office will be able to surpass 50 billion yuan. As of Sunday night, the total had reached 48.1 billion yuan. 

For Lai Li, an analyst with ticketing platform Maoyan, the blockbuster success of Zootopia 2 is a piece of heartening news for the industry.

"Especially after experiencing the ups and downs of the film market throughout the year, such positive news toward the end of the year ­indicates that audiences have always been present and are consistently willing to pay for high-quality content," Lai told the Global Times on Sunday. 

After its nationwide screening on Wednesday, the long-awaited sequel wasted no time asserting dominance. Saturday alone delivered a staggering 738 million yuan and an unprecedented single-day attendance of 18.755 million, making it the second-highest single-day turnout for any film in Chinese history - trailing only Detective Chinatown 3 (20.413 million on Chinese New Year's Day 2021). Earlier that evening, the film had already eclipsed Ne Zha 2's 17.324 million to claim the record for highest single-day attendance by an animated feature. 

The numbers tell only part of the story. Cinemas across the country have been packed, with near-capacity screenings even in premium locations. Xiao Shu, a 29-year-old Beijing resident and longtime fan of the franchise, caught the film with a friend at a theater in the capital's bustling Sanlitun area. "The theater was almost completely full," she told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"We laughed the whole way through. As someone who grew up with the first movie, I caught nearly every joke and movie reference. I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10 - on par with the original."

She had caught the original English dialogue version of the film. The Chinese dubbed version of Zootopia 2, however, has been criticized on China's social media platforms like Sina Weibo. Most of the complaints from audiences have been focusing on the "severely disjointed match between the celebrity voices and the characters."

However, these complaints haven't stopped the strong performance of the movie, which now holds an 8.6/10 on rating site Douban.

For many film critics and analysts like Lai, the tremendous market success of Zootopia 2 has given the current New Year film season a heartening start, fueling November to become the highest-grossing November in nearly six years.

"Given this momentum, not only is the 50 billion yuan annual target expected to be achieved, but it has also provided a powerful shot in the arm for all industry professionals as the year comes to a close," noted Lai. 

Dengta currently projects Zootopia 2 to finish its run at 4.055 billion yuan, while Maoyan has raised its prediction to 4.263 billion yuan. Veteran Beijing-based critic Tan Fei is even more bullish. In a WeChat moment post, Tan declared, "Zootopia 2 has gained tremendous momentum and is expected to gross over 5 billion yuan. Riding on its success, China's film market is projected to break the 50 billion yuan mark in total annual box office revenue this year."

With several prime earning weeks still ahead - including the lucrative December holiday corridor - the bunny and fox duo appear poised to keep rewriting Chinese box-office history for some time to come.